I'll Be Seeing You

by CloverCreative

In which the timing is never quite right, until it is? Exploring a series of moments throughout the years as Toph and Sokka help each other navigate their complicated lives in Republic City, and perhaps figure out their feelings for each other along the way. Canon Universe. Other pairings included. Mature Themes.

23. Trust in Me

Chapter 23: Trust in Me

Toph strides into City Hall, her face stoic and authoritative, even with her cheeks stained red and her nose sniffly, both chapped from the cold outside. It's the time of year when the weather is at its most temperamental - that slow transition from winter into spring, where some days bring daffodils and warmth, and others bring overcast skies, light flurries, and frosty toes. Today, it seems that mother nature has gifted the later, and Toph is admittedly glad to step in from the cold outside.

Though, as glad as she is to get warm and as purposeful as her walk is, there's a part of her that remains hesitant as she paces up the stairs towards a conversation that she's been avoiding all day.

She hears a few conspirative whispers from secretaries and administrators as she passes by, and she resists the urge to slap her forehead. She's not entirely immune to gossip herself, but in this case, she really wishes people understood what 'strictly classified' meant. The situation is precarious enough without the whispering walls, though it does help to confirm that the decision she's made is the right one. She just hopes Sokka will agree.

She taps gently on the doorframe to his office, announcing her presence, "Councilman."

She senses Sokka look up from his desk, and she can hear his smile as he says, "Mmm, you know, I forgot how much I like it when you call me that. I'm still not used to it."

Toph steps inside and closes the door, unable to hide the mirth from her own face, "Hmm, the name suits you well. Though, perhaps I should be calling you chairman, again?"

Sokka puts down whatever document he was holding and casually cracks his knuckles, and the sound of it only mildly hides the husky tone of his voice. "You can call me whatever you'd like, Chief."

Toph suppresses a shiver, one she can no longer blame on the cold. Biting her lips, "I'll keep that in mind."

Their impromptu flirtation sizzles out into silence, and Toph stands awkwardly by the door, clicking her fingers as she braces herself for the inevitable. As much as she likes this flirty rapport they've built up over the past few months, that's not why she's here.

Slowly, Sokka stands up from his seat, moving around his desk and taking a few steps to where Toph stands. She gets a whiff of his aftershave - that enticing mix of smoke and sea salt - as he draws closer, and his proximity feels like a weight on her chest – though, not entirely a bad one. Overwhelming, yes, but not bad.

His presence around her has become like a drug, addicting and intoxicating, and each shot offers her a strange dose of both comfort and conquest. They haven't bridged that gap between friends and lovers, not in a long time. But, nearly a decade of sobriety from Sokka's touch has done nothing to make her crave it less, and the more she's around him without getting her fix, the higher the dose she thinks she'll need when she does.

"So… I assume you've heard the news," Sokka says, no longer flirtatious. He's only standing a foot away from her now, and Toph has to put some effort into focusing. Sweet Agni, she has it bad, doesn't she?

"I did." Toph nods her head, stoically. "The council is going to vote on whether or not to reside on the Yakone case."

"And," Sokka says, though he doesn't sound all that surprised when he asks, "Why don't you sound happy about that?"

"I am happy." Toph says, unconvincingly.

"We're going to vote yes, Toph," Sokka assures, reading her hesitance. "One way or another, Yakone is going to stand trial in front of the council. I'll make sure of it."

"I know you will. I'm not worried about that. It's just…"

"And after the vote, all that's left then is to get the warrant signed and to make the arrest. " Sokka crosses his arms over his chest, shifting just an inch closer. "There's no way Yakone will get acquitted this time. This is what we've been working so hard for, isn't it?"

"It is." Toph says, carefully. "It's just… it's a lot to process."

Sokka nods, slowly. His words are equally as careful. "I suppose it is."

A beat passes, and the air between them grows heavy - weighed down by all that remains unsaid.

Yes, getting to this point in the Yakone case is certainly a lot to process. It's been a long, bumpy road to get to here, and really, it's the biggest win they've had since this all began. They're closer to the finish line than ever before.

But… that means they're also running out of excuses, and while that pill is one Toph wants to take, for some reason, it's still one that is hard to swallow.

They said they needed to wait for elections to be over. Well, politics have blown over, and despite tabloids insisting on keeping scandal alive (Toph is sure that half the population will always insist that Sokka is her baby daddy) Sokka was reelected months ago and just got reappointed as chairman.

They said Toph needed to focus on motherhood and get used to having a newborn again. Now, Su is almost one, Toph's maternity leave has well ended, and Sokka has been there every step of the way.

They said they needed to focus on rebuilding their friendship after everything that happened, and really, they've never been closer. They're a family, in almost every sense of the word.

All of that to say… there's really no reasons left why Toph and Sokka can't be together.

And… Toph is ready. For all of it. Really, she is. At least... she's pretty sure she is.

What then… is still holding her back?

"At least we have Ember Island to give us a bit of a break," Sokka says, breaking the tension and forcing Toph back to the present.

"Yeah," Toph starts, regretfully, "About that…"

She can feel Sokka's hope deflating, as he realizes, "You're not going."

It's not a question or an accusation, and Toph's not sure if she's relieved or just further disappointed in herself to find that Sokka doesn't sound all that surprised by this revelation.

"I'm sorry, Sokka…" Toph says, awkwardly scratching at the back of her neck. But, she thinks back to the whispering walls of City Hall from only moments ago, and she knows this is what she has to do. "News of the upcoming vote is already starting to spread, and when that news reaches the ears of the wrong people, things are going to get ugly around here. What if Yakone makes a break for it before I can arrest him?"

"He hasn't resisted arrest before," Sokka points out.

"Doesn't mean he won't try this time," Toph says, firmly. "He has to know that his days are numbered. If he hears about the council's decision, maybe he'll decide he's done testing his luck.

"Plus, even if Yakone decides to be cocky and stay put, it's not just him I have to worry about. You know as well as I do that some people are not going to be happy about this."

"What?" Sokka starts, somewhat skeptically, "I can imagine some backlash, but do you really think they'll be rioting in the streets or something?"

"Maybe." Toph crosses her arms, mirroning Sokka's position in front of her. "I don't know. Anything is possible at this point, but I don't want to risk things going haywire now, not when we have him so close. We'll never have this chance again, so everything must go smoothly. I have to be here to watch over things."

"Yes," Sokka sighs, begrudgingly. "I guess the timing could have been better on the council's part. I should have thought of all that."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Toph says, reaching out to grip his shoulder. She ignores the sparks at her fingertips. "I know how many hoops you've had to jump through to get to this point, and we couldn't have gotten this far without you."

"Maybe," Sokka says, and Toph can sense him rub a tired hand at his face, "I'm just sorry it took so long. And now-"

"And now," Toph assures, her hand rubbing his shoulder, "You did the right thing. You weren't going to risk it being put off another five months just for the sake of a vacation, right? It is what it is."

"Still," Sokka says, "We've been planning this trip for a while. I thought…"

His voice trails off, and Toph feels another sharp pang of regret. Swallowing her guilt, "Believe me, it's not because I don't want to go. I was really, really looking forward to it."

It's true. When Zuko invited everyone out for a holiday out on Ember Island, both Sokka and Toph had jumped at the opportunity. At first, Toph knows that Sokka had been surprised by her enthusiasm. As much as she persistently complains about needing a vacation, she's always been hesitant to take one, not when Yakone is still at large.

But it wasn't exactly the tropical weather or fruity cocktails that Toph was looking forward to, and perhaps that's what Sokka was really surprised by. Neither one of them had said it, but they both knew that Ember Island was going to be meaningful for them.

A change of scenery, a break from the routine, and a chance to get away from the city and all its troubles. It presented the perfect opportunity to go draw a line in the perfectly pristine, white sand of the island… and, an even better opportunity to cross it.

The thought of crossing those lines with Sokka again terrifies Toph as much as it exhilarates her.

But, she's ready. Really, she is. She's almost positive.

"Well," Sokka starts. He walks back to his desk and sits on the edge, gesturing at Toph to take the seat in front of him, "I guess we can find something fun to do here instead?"

"What?" Toph makes a face as she moves towards his desk. Casually, she bends off the bits of metal from her forearms and shins in an effort to get more comfortable, though she leaves on her chest piece. Feeling a little less constricted, she shakes out her wrists and cracks her joints before sitting down in Sokka's chair, propping her feet up on his desk. Resolutely, she says, "No, you have to go."

"What? Without you?" Sokka says, sounding equal parts sad and confused, though he takes advantage of Toph's newly exposed skin and grabs her ankle, giving it a firm, but gentle squeeze. "No, we were all supposed to go together. A family vacation, remember?"

"It's still going to be a family vacation, Mr. Sourpuss. Everyone else is going, and you should be there too." Toph releases a short, fond laugh, touched by his earnestness. "Please, do not stay here on my account and miss out on all the fun. You deserve this trip, and I'm not going to be the reason you don't get to go."

"But-"

"No 'buts', Sokka. You're going." Toph says, firmly, but fondly. "You're going to go and you're going to spend time with your family and get lots of sun and drink lots of fruity beverages and you're going to like it. End of story. Got it?"

"Okay, I'll go," Sokka sighs, disguised only by a short, relenting laugh. He puts his other hand on her ankle and starts rubbing gentle circles with his thumbs, massaging her there. Though surprised by the movement, Toph does nothing to stop him.

Instead, she clears her throat, "That's good."

"Mm, I can imagine." Sokka presses his thumbs harder into her skin as he draws his hands further up her calf. "You're so tense, Toph."

Toph blushes, her voice pinched, "I meant that's good that you're going on the trip."

If Sokka is embarrassed by the miscommunication, he doesn't show it. Instead, rather boldly, he pulls her leg up into his lap. "Oh," he says, and Toph can hear the smirk in his voice, "Do you want me to stop then?"

"Um…" Toph considers, closing her eyes as Sokka continues his movements, massaging the tense muscles on her calf and shin. It does feel rather good. Even so, her blush remains as she says, "No, keep going. It's nice."

He does as she says, grabbing her other leg off the desk and pulling it onto his lap. He's smart enough to avoid touching her feet - lest he risk a kick in the face - but slowly, methodically, he continues to knead at Toph's legs. Toph lets herself get lost in the relaxation, almost forgetting to realize that this is the most he's touched her in a long time. It becomes easier to remember though, as his hands gradually inch up just past her knees, teasingly. Even over the fabric of her uniform, the ghost of his fingertips at her thighs makes her belly drop. Toph swallows, forcing her face to remain still.

"You know," Sokka says, after a beat, "I hear they give the best massages out on Ember Island."

Toph opens her eyes and narrows them, no longer relaxed. "Sokka, I know what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" Sokka says, coyly, as he slowly pushes her pant leg up her calf.

He's being light and flirtatious, but Toph suddenly finds herself unable to reciprocate. Instead, she pulls her legs off his lap and away from his hands as she sits up in her chair, planting her feet firmly (and safely out of reach) on the ground.

"I do want to go, Sokka," Toph says, regretfully, "But…"

"I know." Sokka sighs, stopping her, "You can't."

Toph huffs in her own deep breath, frustrated by the sudden change in atmosphere and the swoop of guilt in her gut. As bummed as she is about missing the trip, her biggest regret is finding yet another way to be a disappoint to Sokka.

Perhaps there's more to say, but neither Toph nor Sokka care to fill the silence. Sokka swings his legs back and forth, his feet hitting against the side of his desk with a dull, yet persistent thud. Toph sticks her hand out to grab his ankle this time, stopping him – though, more from annoyance and less for the sake of intimacy. He takes the hint and stands up instead, pacing a few steps away from her towards the window. Toph's not sure if the distance is regretful or just a relief.

"I have to be honest." Sokka finally starts, with another sigh, "I understand why you can't go, but I don't love the idea of you and the girls staying here by yourself. Not until Yakone is arrested. I know you can take care of yourself, but-"

"I can take care of myself," Toph promises, "But actually, I was hoping you'd take the girls with you."

"Really?" Sokka pauses, turning to look back at her. "You don't want them here with you?"

Toph shrugs, casually, "Lin was really looking forward to it."

"Okay…" Sokka gnaws at the inside of his cheek, his face pinched in concern. "But what about Su? She's not even a year old. Something tells me she's not exactly prepped for a tropical vacation any time soon. You really want me to take her?"

He's making a fair point, but Toph picks up on his silent trepidation. He's been more than helpful with the kids. He basically treats them like his own, and despite the fact that they don't live together, Sokka remains a pretty constant presence in her kids' lives. But… she supposes there's a difference when a whole ocean separates them.

Toph, assuring him, "Yes, I'm sure. It would help me focus on what needs to get done here if I knew the girls were safe with you."

"Okay," Sokka says, still sounding a bit uneasy, "If you think that's best."

Again, sensing his apprehension, Toph stands up and walks over to him. Ignoring the flush it gives her, she takes his hands in hers. The spike in his heart rate tells her that perhaps she's not the only one affected by the proximity, though it should hardly surprise her at this point.

"Thank you, Sokka." Toph tilts her head up, hoping to meet his gaze. "For both taking care of the girls and for understanding."

Sokka sighs, his thumbs rubbing the back of her hands, "To be honest, a part of me does, and a part of me doesn't. But… we've made it this far, and I know this is something you have to do."

Knowing it's not really enough, Toph reaches out and slides her arms between Sokka's, entrapping him with her embrace. For a moment, he seems surprised. Hugs are certainly not unheard of or even uncommon between them, but they're also not so casually given. Even so, Sokka hesitates for only a moment before returning the embrace, pressing her closer.

Toph nods against his chest. She's becoming increasingly more grateful for Sokka's seemingly never-ending support and patience. Though, she's not foolish enough to think it's infinite, and despite everything, she's not greedy enough to want to test it.

Still…

"I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen," Toph admits, her voice muffled as her cheek squishes against Sokka's chest. "I can't help but feel like Yakone has more up his sleeve. I just don't know what."

She wonders if perhaps Sokka shares the same feeling, and that's why he's not putting up more of a fight about her going.

His grip tightening around her tells her that yes, he does.

---

Sokka closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he takes in the warmth of the sun blazing down on his shoulders. It's been a long time since he spent any time on Ember Island – not since work brought him here years ago – but he finds it just as hot, balmy, and relaxing as he remembers it.

Well… almost as relaxing.

Last time he was here, he wasn't surrounded by a group of playful, screaming kids and that permanent, withered stress that accompanies all parents wherever they go. Granted, the first time he was ever here, they were all gearing up to confront The Firelord and dealing with the potential end of the world, so that wasn't exactly relaxing either.

But somehow the stakes now seem that much higher, even for something as trivial as taking the kids to the beach. Toph entrusted him with watching over her kids, and even if she hadn't, he feels deeply responsible for whatever happens to them. It's amazing how stressed he can get about their wellbeing, and he constantly finds himself going over questions in his head. Did they get enough to eat? Are they getting too much sun? Is Lin swimming out too far? Can I still see her from where I'm sitting? Does Su know not to chew that?

How does anyone survive being a parent?

Even so, he wouldn't change it for the world as he watches his nieces and nephew play in the water, happy and joyful and immensely rewarding to witness.

As nervous as he was about taking Lin and Su on a trip without their mother, and as worried as he perpetually seems to be, it's been entirely worth it.

Though, that doesn't make him wish Toph were here any less.

Zuko's private beach house has been a welcome indulgence, and it's definitely been nice hanging out with the whole family again (minus Toph), though he can't help but wonder how she's doing back in Republic City. He hasn't heard anything since he got here, but he supposes that no news is good news. Still, he forces himself to shake thoughts of Toph from his head. She wanted him to have fun and to relax, so that's what he should try to do.

He watches fondly as Lin, Tenzin, and Izumi splash out of the water and start to play in the sand. It makes Sokka happy to see the three of them not only getting along so well, but actually acting like the kids they are. All three of them tend to be more on the reserved and serious side, compared to the likes of Bumi and Kya, but they seem to bring out the more playful side in each other, which is nice.

Of course, Tenzin and Lin are always glued to the hip, but Izumi sort of has the short end of the stick where she's a bit older than her youngest 'cousins', but too young to be caught up with her older ones. Plus, since she doesn't see them as much as the rest of them do, she tends to be a bit shy, so Sokka's glad to see her opening up a bit.

Bumi is off somewhere on the Island, more interested in flirting with locals and showing off his new military badge than babysitting his cousins. It still blows Sokka's mind that Bumi is technically an adult now, though in hindsight, Sokka looks back at himself at that age and realizes just how young he actually was.

Kya, though still a kid herself and only a couple years older than Izumi, was determined to act older than her age and opted to go shopping with the rest of the women, leaving the guys to take the kids to the beach. Sokka does like shopping, but the thought of having to handle a group comprised of Katara, Mai, Suki and Ty Lee makes him glad he's here on the beach instead. He feels a brief flicker of sympathy for Suki's husband, who, because he had no kids of his own to watch, was roped into going with the girls, probably just so he could carry around their shopping bags.

Sokka stays in the sun, his skin able to tolerate it, but Aang and Zuko remain a few feet away, tucked in the shade beneath their umbrella. Aang looks at peace, though not in the meditative sense. Much like Sokka, Aang keeps his attention out on the kids, no doubt feeling that same strange, fatherly cocktail of worry and pride. For once, Zuko actually seems the most relaxed, as he lays on his towel, his eyes closed, and his arms crossed casually behind his head. Sokka thinks he might actually be asleep.

"Uncle Sokka!" Lin yells, stomping up the beach to where he sits and demanding his attention, "Check this out!"

Lin makes a show of stomping into the ground and raising her arms, bending the sand to form into a sculpture. It doesn't take long for Sokka to realize that it's a sculpture of Toph. Or, at least that it's trying to be.

While it's impressive that Lin can bend sand at such a young age, she's still far from mastering it. Plus, even if she was able to make the sand move exactly how she wants it, she's still only seven-years-old, so creativity and imagination lend themselves more to artistic license than artistic principle. So, while the sculpture does resemble Toph, the proportions of her limbs are a bit off, and Toph's face looks more like the poster of her as The Runaway and less like the cool, stoic police chief she's become.

"Look!" Lin says, proudly gesturing to her work of art. "It's mommy!"

"Why'd you give her such spikey teeth?" Izumi says, walking up to inspect Lin's handywork.

"What?" Lin pouts, suddenly concerned as she takes a closer look at her creation. Then, stomping her foot into the sand, "No I didn't!"

"She looks scary," remarks Tenzin, his expression looking far older than his age as his brows knit together, perhaps genuinely frightened.

"Tenzin." Aang warns from his seat. Gentle, but firm, "Be nice."

"No, she doesn't!" Lin defends, clearly getting upset by the critiques. She looks back at Sokka, timidly. "Right, Uncle Sokka?"

"Why, yes, Lin! Excellent craftsmanship! It looks just like her to me." Sokka says, forcing an overly posh voice and a smile to his face, if only for the sake of Lin. Normally, he'd probably be laughing (at least internally) at Toph's expense, but now, the odd-looking, monsteresque sculpture of Toph just reminds him how much he misses her. "Great job, Linny Bear."

Just then, Momo flies over and lands on Toph the Sand Monster's shoulder, and the sculpture falls apart, the sand dissolving away into the shore. Poetic, Sokka thinks to himself, ironically.

"Momo!" Lin yells, though much to Sokka's relief, she doesn't seem upset anymore. Instead, she and the other two kids burst into fits of giggles as they start to chase the lemur down the beach and away from the adults.

Suyin, sat beside Sokka, remains unbothered as she paws at the sand. Her skin is a lot less pale compared to Lin's, but Sokka moves to adjust the hat on her head anyway, making sure she's protected from the sun. She's still too young to walk just yet, but she can crawl and sit up, and just in the last few weeks her motor skills have started to develop in more noticeable ways. It amazes Sokka, how proud he is of her little milestones.

"Are you angry with her?" Aang asks from his seat, disrupting Sokka's thoughts.

"With who?" Sokka asks, absentmindedly. He hands Suyin a toy shovel and watches as she clumsily grabs it and sticks it in the sand, not quite knowing what to do with it.

"With Toph," Aang says, pointedly. "I got the sense that you were both excited to take this trip together. Are you mad that she backed out last minute?"

Sokka fights the blush on his cheeks, wondering how exactly it is that his thoughts are so transparent. "Do you think I should be?"

Aang, with a slight laugh, "Katara does. Though, she was looking forward to a 'secret' spa day with Toph, so she's a bit mad herself."

"But you?" Sokka asks, twisting his neck to look back at Aang. "Are you mad?"

Aang leans forward in his beach chair, his thumbs twiddling in his lap. He offers his trademark, empathetic smile. "No. To be honest, I can actually understand where Toph is coming from.

"She and I don't always see eye to eye, obviously, but I do know what it's like to feel responsible." This time, Aang's smile falls, weighed down by the weight of the world. "If anything, I feel a little guilty for not being there with her."

"Yeah," Sokka admits. He turns back and looks back down at the sand, grabbing a fistful to sift through his fingers. "Me too."

"Hey, you don't need to feel guilty." Aang's voice pipes up from behind him. "For now, you've done your part, and you may not realize it, but you're doing a lot more for Toph by being here with Lin and Suyin than you would be if you were back in Republic City."

"I guess." Sokka shrugs, only somewhat mollified. "So, you think Toph did the right thing by staying?"

"Maybe. But it doesn't really matter what I think. What matters is how you feel."

"Helpful." Sokka quips, sarcastically. He twists his torso once again, this time to look back at his other friend. "What do you think, Zuko?"

Zuko, looking more like he wants to nap and less like he wants to chat, squints an eye open and sends an irritated, sleepy glare Sokka's way. He lets out a long sigh, clearly annoyed at getting roped into the conversation, but then says, "Well, I'm not sure I agree with Aang about Toph needing to stay in Republic City, but I do agree that it doesn't really matter what we think. Like Aang said, it matters how you feel."

Sokka rolls his eyes, frustrated by their lack of insight. Again, he turns back to look at the sand, hoping to find all the answers in its grains. Eventually, "Well, I feel… conflicted. In one sense, it's hard to be mad at her. One of the reasons I like her so much is her commitment to protecting Republic City."

"But?" Aang prompts.

"But…" Sokka says, with a deep sigh. He picks up another pile of sand and throws it uselessly to the side, keeping his hands busy. "Sometimes, it's hard not to question her commitment to me."

Aang nods, but his face remains aloof, not giving anything away.

"Hmm." Zuko hums from his spot on the ground, not bothering to open his eyes this time. Again, Sokka looks back at him, this time quirking his brow.

"What?" Sokka asks, sensing his skepticism.

"Nothing," Zuko offers a noncommittal shrug, his face stoic, "It's just…I think you're the one person she is committed to."

Sokka can't help but scoff. "Really? You think?"

With one last lamenting sigh, Zuko opens his eyes and finally sits up on his towel, his elbows resting on his knees. "Yeah, I mean, look at this way. Toph has issues letting anyone else have control, yet she's entrusted you to watch over her kids, the two most precious things in her life."

"Yeah," Sokka turns his attention back to Su and smiles without thinking. At the same time, Su looks up at him, mimicking his smile with one of her own, and Sokka's chest floods with affection. "I suppose."

There's a short reprieve from the conversation as Sokka plays with Suyin in the sand and Zuko lays back down on his towel, happy to return to his nap. Sokka is also quite happy to leave it there, but Aang's voice pipes up again.

"You know," he starts, his voice surprisingly sullen, "I remember when you were still with Kahlia, after your falling out with Toph. I'd never seen her so bent up or broken over anything before."

"So, what's your point?" Sokka glares over his shoulder, not appreciating the reminder. "That was ages ago."

"My point is, she's been through a lot, Sokka." Aang says, thoughtfully, "From Kanto leaving her and Lin, to everything that's happened with Yakone, to nearly dying and finding out she was pregnant with some stranger's baby. She's suffered so much pain, and still, her biggest regret is how much it's hurt you."

"Okay, but I don't blame her for any of that," Sokka says, somewhat desperately, "And anything I might've blamed her for, I've forgiven. She knows that."

"Does she?" Zuko asks from the comfort of his towel, though the question sounds rhetorical, so Sokka doesn't answer and instead offers him another glare.

"I don't think that matters Sokka," Aang continues, ignoring his friends' silent squabble. "Even if you have forgiven her, we all know how hard it can be to forgive yourself."

"I guess." Sokka's face twists in contemplation as he pulls his knees up to his chest. Guilt is definitely an emotion he can empathize with.

"You've both been through a lot," Aang assures, patiently, "And Toph would never admit it to you, but I know she holds on to a lot of guilt over everything that's happened between you two, and from what I can tell, she's been trying to make up for it."

"I know she has." Sokka flicks a seashell at his feet, unable to keep the frustration from his voice, "But doesn't she know I don't need her to make up for it? All I want… all I need is for her to be willing to take a chance on us. I don't know what else I can do to make that clear!"

"Sokka," Aang says as he stands up from his chair, plopping himself down on the sand next to Sokka. "Believe it or not, I know what it's like to get impatient when it comes to love. But Toph's hesitance has nothing to do with her lack of commitment to you."

Sokka knits his brows together, "What do you mean?"

"Look, she may not be ready for what you're offering," Aang puts a hand on Sokka's shoulder, comfortingly, "But you are the reason that she's trying to be."

"You really think so?" asks Sokka, somewhat pitifully.

"Yeah! I mean, it's no secret that Toph has emotional issues, but you're the reason she's fighting so hard to overcome them." Aang fixes Sokka with an obstinate look, forcing him to meet his gaze. "You're the reason she wants to be a better person, why she's so invested in what happens to Yakone, why she fights so hard to protect what she loves. If that's not commitment, I don't know what is."

Sokka blinks, surprised by the fortitude of Aang's speech. He looks back down at the sand. "I guess I never thought of it that way."

"Listen, Sokka," Aang says, a bit more easygoing, "It's okay if you're a little mad at Toph for not being here, or if you feel like your patience is being tested…but, try to have a little more faith in her. She'll come around."

"I do have faith in her," Sokka says, adamantly. "I just wish she had a bit more faith in us."

"Ugh, don't be an idiot, Sokka," Zuko grumbles from his towel.

Sokka turns back to look at him, surprised (and annoyed) by the sharpness of Zuko's words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

With a deep sigh, Zuko resigns himself from any hope of relaxation and props himself up on his elbows, fixing Sokka with a dull look. "Listen, buddy. Do you love Toph?"

Sokka gulps back, surprised by the question. But, "Yes. Of course, I do."

"And does she love you?"

Another gulp. "I think so."

"And did she not welcome you into her family? Entrust you with her kids?"

"Well," Sokka pauses, scratching his head, "Yes, she did. But-"

"And does she make you happy?"

"Yes, she does. But-"

"And have you told her that?"

"Well, not exactly. But-"

"And have you told her that you want more?"

"Yes!" Sokka says quickly, before Zuko can interrupt him again, "I asked her to move in with me and she said no."

If Zuko is surprised by this revelation, he doesn't show it. Instead, unimpressed, "And how long ago was that?"

Sokka makes a face. Begrudgingly, "A couple years ago."

"And were you really ready for that a couple years ago?"

Sokka's frown deepens. Quietly, he admits, "No. I wasn't."

"And are you ready now?"

This time, Sokka doesn't hesitate, "Yes. I am"

"And do you think Toph is ready?"

"Yes," Sokka says again, surprised at how sure of it he sounds, "I think she is."

"Okay, so what's stopping you from asking her again?"

"Well, I-"

"Is it because you don't want to push her?" Zuko says, knowingly, "Or because you don't want to open yourself up to rejection again?"

Sokka opens his mouth to answer, but he shuts it just as quick, not really having an answer.

"Because," Zuko continues, his tone even and steady, despite the adamancy of his words, "If you've truly forgiven her, if you truly have faith in her, then you would tell her what you really want instead of waiting on her to figure it out."

Again, not knowing what to say, Sokka keeps his mouth shut.

"All I'm saying is," Zuko sits up a bit straighter, "Toph has tried to make up for her mistakes. And she's trying to make you happy, to give you the life she thinks you deserve. But how is she supposed to know what she deserves?

"You're waiting for Toph to give you want you want," Zuko quirks a brow, "But it sounds like you're expecting her to give you something that she doesn't even know she has within her to give."

"Uhm…" is all Sokka can manage.

"Listen, buddy, I get that it feels like she's holding something back from you, but really, it's not you she's holding anything back from." Zuko pauses, takes a deep breath, then adds, "And perhaps she's not the only one holding back."

Zuko's speech finally seems to end as he lays back down on his towel, ready to resume his nap. Sokka's mouth hangs open dumbly, and even Aang looks surprised by Zuko's insights.

Finally, after several moments of regaining his composure, Sokka asks, "So, what you're saying is that it's up to me? That I'm the idiot here?"

"No, I think you're both idiots," Zuko's lips quirk up, sardonically. Then, more genuinely, "A bridge cannot be built with just two hands, Sokka. It's up to both of you to meet somewhere in the middle."

A beat passes as Zuko's speech settles into the sounds of the shore.

"I gotta hand it to you, Zuko," Aang says, cheerfully at Sokka's side, "You're a lot more insightful than you look."

Zuko turns his squint up to Aang. With a frown, "Thanks."

"So, Zuko," Aang asks, changing the subject. "I've been meaning to ask. Where on earth did you find Druk?"

Once again, Zuko sits up from his towel, this time less unwillingly. "Oh, it's a long story, but you remember when we took a visit to the Ancient Sun Warriors?"

"Oh, you mean one of your infamous life-changing field trips?" Aang says, with a good-natured tease, "How could I forget?"

"Life-changing?" Zuko says, clearly still uncomfortable with that honor. He shrugs, but a brief flicker of realization flashes in his eyes. "I suppose it was."

Before the other two men can question it (not that Sokka would, since he's too busy stewing in his thoughts), Zuko pushes himself up off the ground, dusting the sand off his knees.

"Sokka, Aang, if you'll excuse me, I just remembered there's something I have to take care of."

"What?" says Aang, scratching his arrow, "Right now?"

"Please tell Izumi I had to go but that I'll be back before she knows it," Zuko says. Then, as an afterthought, "Oh, and make sure she doesn't eat too many fire-flakes before dinner."

Aang opens his mouth, but Zuko's off before he gets the chance to ask any more questions. "Monkey feathers!" Aang snaps his fingers, "I wanted to hear the rest of the story!"

---

Toph sighs as she listens to her lieutenant recite from the umpteenth arrest report, though truthfully, she's not listening all that carefully. Instead, she fiddles with her space bracelet, forming it into nonsensical shapes as her mind drifts. The weather outside remains cold, and inside doesn't seem to be faring off much better, despite being insulated.

What she wouldn't give to be on a tropical island right now, soaking up some sun.

Well, she supposes there's a lot she wouldn't give, otherwise she'd be there right now, instead of here in Republic City, half-assing the job that she so insisted that she needed to be here to do.

She hopes Sokka and the girls are doing okay. She can't imagine why they wouldn't be, but it's become easier in recent years for her to imagine the worst. No, they're fine. Right now, Sokka's probably basking in the sun and making terrible sand art and sipping slushies from coconuts and playing with the girls and making stupid jokes about meat and spirits, she misses them.

"You know, boss," Cheng says, and Toph doesn't see him eyeing the meteorite in her hands. She hadn't even realized he'd stopped reading from the report. "No offense, but we could have managed here without you for a few days."

Toph quirks a brow, "Did I say you couldn't?"

"Well, no," Cheng puts the report down, "But you didn't have to give up your vacation just to babysit us lot. I could have handled it."

He's being light with his words, but Toph can sense a hint of offense in his voice, and she suddenly feels bad for making him question her faith in his leadership skills. She may be the greatest earthbender in the world, but she's not the only earthbender. She's not even the only metalbender anymore either, thanks to her. Surely she can trust the very people she taught to do the job to… well, to do the job.

"I'm not babysitting anyone, Cheng," she insists. She molds the space earth back around her wrist, unable to access her bicep with her uniform on. "Really, it has nothing to do with you guys. I know you're just as capable of watching over things. I just feel better knowing I'm here in case something goes wrong, okay?"

"If you say so." Cheng stands up and grabs the stack of reports, clearly giving up on keeping Toph's attention for the day. "I'm just saying. You deserve a break, Chief."

Cheng is just trying to be nice, but Toph pinches the space between her brows anyway. She quickly feels a headache forming. "I'll take a break when Yakone is in prison."

"Pfft." Cheng scoffs as he heads out the door, "Won't be long now, Chief."

"Knock on wood." Toph jokes to herself, though she's only half kidding.

Exhausted, whether from practically living at the station these days or just from her mounting pile of guilt, Toph releases a deep, long sigh as she leans back in her chair, ready to tune out the world for a bit as she props her feet up on the desk.

She only gets a few minutes of peace though, when she hears the door to her office creak open once more.

"Did you forget something, Cheng?" Toph says, trying not to let her irritation show too much.

"As a matter of fact," says a voice, one that definitely does not belong to Cheng. "I did."

"Zuko!?" Toph says, instantly recognizing the raspy voice. She takes her feet off the desk and plops them on the ground, her seismic sense confirming what she already knows. "What the hell are you doing here? Did something happen? Is everyone okay? Shouldn't you be on Ember Island?"

"Funny." Leaned up against the doorframe, Zuko sounds out a humorous laugh. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Toph, instantly realizing what he means, "Zuko, I already told Sokka why I have to stay here. He understands."

"Well, he might understand, but I don't."

"Come on, Zuko. Be reasonable. What was I supposed to do?" Toph says, with a frustrated sigh. She leans forward, placing her elbows on her desk and her head in hands, rubbing at her temples. "Yakone is still out there undoubtedly watching our every move. Was I just supposed to walk away and give him leave to do whatever he wants?"

Zuko shrugs from the doorway, his voiced laced with irony, "Yes."

"Really?" Toph quips, her hands dropping on her desktop with an audible smack! Incredulously, "Is that what you would do? Leave your people vulnerable to an attack?"

Another shrug. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Toph blinks, confused, "Well… That's different."

"Is it?" Zuko says, pushing himself off the frame of the door and closing it. He takes a few steps forward, pausing in front of Toph's desk. "The Fire Nation might not be dealing with Yakone, but that doesn't mean we don't have threats of our own. Peace is fragile, Toph, but I am not the string that holds it together."

Toph rolls her eyes, exaggerating her frustration with another sigh. "What does that even mean?"

Zuko doesn't answer her right away. Instead, he pulls out the chair in front of Toph's desk and sits down. He takes a sigh of his own, clearly bracing himself for an uncomfortable conversation.

"Toph," he starts, after a beat, "You're very good at your job."

"Okay," she says, hesitantly. She has a funny feeling there's a 'but' coming.

"But," Zuko says, confirming her suspicions, "This city would do just fine without you."

Toph scowls, taken aback by her friend's bluntness. Bitterly, "Well gee, guess I better get lost then."

"What I mean is, Toph," Zuko troops on, ignoring her attitude, "You've worked your butt off protecting these people, and you've done a great job, but you can't spend every second of your life waiting around for the other shoe to drop."

"But Zuko," Toph says, unable to hold back her resentment. A bit more whiny than she intends, "The other shoe always does drop."

"And?" Zuko says, firmly, "Why is it you who always has to catch it when it does?"

Toph only feels her headache getting worse. She doesn't have time to explain herself. She doesn't have to explain herself. Still, weakly, "Because…"

"Because you're the only one capable?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Look, I get it." Zuko interrupts, shaking his head. "Aang is the same way. Perhaps we all are. Once you feel indebted to the world, you never really stop."

Toph opens her mouth to retort, but closes it just as quickly, whatever words she had dissolving on her tongue. She'd never heard it phrased so poignantly, but indebted seems accurate. Though whether she feels indebted to the world or to something else, she's not quite sure.

"But the difference is," Zuko says, continuing his speech, "The rest of us know when, and when not to be the martyr."

Toph scoffs, petulantly. "I'm not a martyr."

"Aren't you?" Zuko challenges, unconvinced. "Or are you saying you don't actually want to be with Sokka right now? With your kids, with your family? That you'd rather be here instead?"

"No. No, of course I'd rather be with them. I want to be with them, with everyone," Toph insists. "But-"

"But you've chosen to stay behind and wait for the worst, instead of taking a chance to follow down a path that might lead you to the best."

"I'm needed here." Toph again insists, angry that Zuko is actually starting to make sense.

Zuko pauses, and Toph can practically hear his pointed expression. "You're needed in other places too."

Toph stays silent, choosing to ignore the knowing gaze Zuko is surely casting her way, opting to gnaw at her fingernail instead. She silently wills Zuko to just give up on her. She's spent years being a disappointment to the people around her, she doesn't need to add Zuko to that list. If he isn't there already.

"Look, the reason I'm able to be here right now and not in the Fire Nation is because I know that I'm a good leader," Zuko says, and a part of Toph can't help but envy how sure of it he sounds. "Not because nothing bad will ever happen, but because I know that I've done everything in my power to prepare my country and my people to withstand it when it does."

"So, what are you saying? That I'm a bad leader?" Toph pouts, not hiding her offense. "Well, fuck you too."

"No, Toph," now it's Zuko who sounds frustrated, "I'm saying you are a good leader. I'm saying that your officers, that your people would be just fine without you, not because you haven't done a good job, but because you've done an exceptional one. You've led them through hardships, and you've helped them become strong. Strong enough to stand on their own two feet."

"I haven't done anything," Toph grumbles under her breath. It's not like her to reject someone's praise, but that's because she normally has no trouble believing it.

"That's not true. You've built an entire police force from the ground up, one that uses a subset of bending that you invented," Zuko says, his tone matter-of-fact. "Think of how many lives you've saved, not just with your craft, but in teaching others how to use it.

"And, it was your bravery that inspired that woman and all those witnesses to come forward, was it not?" Zuko's fist hits the table, and Toph jolts in her seat, surprised by the strength of his words. "That's what good leadership is, Toph. It's not always about protecting people so much as it about empowering people to protect themselves. You did that."

"Okay, but what if something does go wrong?" Toph argues, though the anger is gone from her voice, replaced by worry, "What kind of message does it send if I leave the city, leave my people when they might need me the most."

"That's just the risk we take, Toph. Yeah, something could go wrong, but the message it sends is that you have faith in your people, and that you trust that something could go right." Zuko sits back in his chair, and almost as an afterthought, he says, "That's the thing about leadership and love. They both need trust in order to work."

Toph jerks her head back. "What's love got to do with anything?"

Pointedly, "Why are you here right now instead of with Sokka?"

"Pfft, nice try, Zuko." Toph sits back in her chair, her arms crossed petulantly above her chest. "If there's one thing I do know, it's that I trust Sokka."

"I know you do. It's not Sokka that you lack trust in," Zuko says, punctuating his sentence with a cryptic note that Toph chooses to ignore.

Instead, shooing him away with a flippant hand, "Zuko, I don't have time or patience to argue with you about this. I'm only here because Yakone-"

"I think we both know that Yakone is just another excuse, Toph. This has nothing to do with him, or your responsibility to Republic City, or even the damn vacation itself." Zuko puts his hands on the desk and stands up, his chair pushed back rather forcefully as he leans over the desk, getting in Toph's space. "This has to do with you, and the reason why you keep putting off your own happiness."

"Haven't we had this conversation already?" Toph snaps, once again ignoring his comment, "I thought we agreed that it's not your place to push. That it's none of your business?"

"Okay, let me ask you this. You said it yourself. What kind of message does it send to leave your people when they need you the most?" Zuko says, throwing her own argument back at her. "So, what about Sokka? He needs you, so what message does it send him that you're here right now and not with him?"

"I…" Toph starts, but once again, the words die on her mouth.

"Toph, I think it's time to ask yourself," Zuko pauses, takes a breath, then asks, "What is it that is really holding you back?"

Toph opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again. In truth, part of her is hoping the answer will just come out. What's holding her back? She doesn't even know the answer, yet she feels it on the tip of her tongue, like the pill she can't bring herself to swallow. The pill she so desperately wants to take.

But all she can say is, "I'm just not ready."

Zuko pushes himself from her desk, standing up tall and regal and oh-so assured. "I don't think that's true, Toph. I think you are ready."

"Okay, so what if I am!?" Toph finally bursts, "What if I mess it up? What if I'm not what Sokka thinks he wants? What if I say the wrong thing at the wrong time and ruin what we have again? What if I have everything I want just to lose it again? What then?"

"Well, Toph. That's where the trust comes in," Zuko says, calmly, despite Toph's outburst. "I don't know what will happen. You don't know, and neither does Sokka nor anyone else."

Zuko walks to the door, pushes on the knob and let's it swing open as he stands to the side, turning to look back at her. Expectantly, "But, there's only one way to find out."

Toph swallows, Zuko's words having more of an effect on her than she thought it possible. Still, she stays rooted in her seat, unable to move.

"You know, Toph. You once called yourself a coward." Zuko tries, one last time, "I'll never forget it, because at the time, I was shocked. You were the bravest person I knew. Back then, you were afraid to be alone."

"I remember." Toph whispers, suddenly unable to find her voice as she recounts her first breakup, all those years ago.

"Yes, well. Now the opposite is true." Zuko shakes his head, admonishingly. "And, if you stay, then perhaps you're not as brave as I thought you were."

Finally, Zuko turns around to leave.

"Wait." Toph says, stopping Zuko mid-through the doorway.

Resolutely, she pushes her chair back, the legs grating against the floor with an unpleasant, yet unfaltering sound. Once again, Zuko turns back to look at her. If Toph could see, she'd note the knowing, satisfied look on Zuko's face.

Truth be told, she's still a little hesitant. Zuko is asking her to take a leap of faith, and Toph has always liked her feet planted rather firmly on the ground, where she knows she won't fall. But, as much as she hates to admit it, Zuko is right… about everything.

And she'll be damned if she let Zuko - or anyone for that matter - call her a coward.

"Where's your airship?" Toph asks, indirectly telling Zuko of her decision.

She can hear the smirk in Zuko's voice. "Who said anything about an airship?"

---

Sokka stares up at the ceiling, though his eyes stay unfocused in the dark, even with the full moon shining brightly through his window. The ocean tide is calm, but if he listens carefully, Sokka can hear the waves lapping down at the beach, along with the faintest breeze rustling the nearby palm trees. It's undeniably peaceful, that perfect mix of white noise that should put one to sleep, but Sokka finds no comfort in it.

Instead, he breathes out a deep sigh before turning to twist under the covers, moving his stare from the ceiling to the wall. The bedsheets are silky and red, and have a crisp, pleasant citrus scent that makes Sokka feel cleaner than he probably is after sweating on the beach all day. It's the most luxury he's had in a long time, though again, Sokka finds no comfort in it.

It's been a long day, and Sokka feels the remnants from the beach in the tan of his dehydrated skin and the ghost of waves rocking his body as he lays still in bed. Between the calming sounds, the indulgent pillows, and the sun stroke of the day, he should have no trouble sleeping.

Yet, of course, his mind has other ideas.

It's bizarre, Sokka thinks, he knows there's plenty of reasons why he and Toph haven't gotten together yet, but for the life of him, he can't think of one that actually matters anymore. He can barely remember what was stopping them in the first place.

Fear of drowning? Pfft. Sokka drowned in his feelings for Toph a long time ago. But, he resurfaced, didn't he?

Fear of ruining what they have? Well, they did ruin it, for a while. But they fixed it, and again, their bond resurfaced, stronger than ever.

Fear of rejection? Of hurting each other? Of losing each other? Perhaps. But they had rejected each other. They had hurt each other. And in a way, they had lost each other too.

All the fears Sokka had about loving Toph were realized. And yet, as he lays in bed, alone, focusing on the empty space beside him, he finds that the true misery is not in the drowning, the rejection, or the hurt, but in not allowing himself to love her.

They were dealt a series of bad hands, of bad moments, of excuses and of complications. And in truth, when Sokka looks back, he can't help but wonder if the cards they got were ones they dealt to themselves, both too stubborn to hope that the game they were playing was one they could win. Yet, in refusing to play, they lost anyway.

He can almost hear Aunt Wu whispering in his hear like the ghost of his past. Your life will be filled with struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted. Sounds about right.

But what now? What is holding them back now?

Truth be told, for a long time, Sokka thought the answer to that was simply Toph. Toph was the one who had to make the first move, the one who had to bridge the gap. She's the one who made that gap in the first place, no?

But perhaps that's not entirely fair.

Sokka wants Toph to have faith in him, in them, but what has he done to show that he has faith in her?

For so long, Sokka was so mad at what happened with Toph and Kanto. To see her in the arms of another man hurt him in ways that he couldn't have anticipated. But mostly, he was just so mad at Toph for pushing him away.

But then, what had he done to try to pull her back in? Not much. Even before Kanto, he couldn't find the courage to just tell her how much he wanted her, how much she meant to him, and how much of his heart she owned. It was so obvious to him - he didn't think he needed to tell her.

It's true, Toph made a lot of mistakes. But so has Sokka, and perhaps his biggest one is not learning from them, and not helping Toph learn from hers.

"What do you think, Yue?" Sokka asks the moon. "Do you think we're ready to learn?"

He wonders is it's his imagination when the room gets just a bit brighter, but before he can really think about it, he hears the door to his room creak open, and he looks up from the bed to see a figure in the doorway. Sokka squints his eyes to see who it is.

"Uncle Sokka?" Lin says. Her hand fidgets on the knob of the door as she holds it open, tentatively.

"Linny Bear?" Sokka sits up and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. He reaches over to the nightstand to switch on the light, squinting his eyes as they adjust. "I thought I tucked you in. What's the matter, can't sleep?"

Bashfully, Lin nods her head as she trots across the room to where Sokka is. She looks tired, her eyes wilting as she leans her chin against Sokka's knees, her hands barely holding on to her stuffed badgermole (Mr. Fluffykins) and blankie that she brought with her. Finally, she says, "I miss mommy."

"I know, kid." Sokka sighs, reaching out to smooth out Lin's unruly hair. "Me too."

Taking that as an adequate invitation, Lin tosses her plushy up onto Sokka's lap before crawling up his knees and plopping down herself. Sokka waits, patiently and amused, as Lin makes herself comfortable, lightly smacking him in the face as she adjusts. She's a bit on the tall side for her age (the one trait she did not inherit from her mother), so her legs dangle awkwardly off Sokka's thighs as Lin slouches against his chest, but she doesn't seem to mind. Once she's finally settled, she looks up at him with wide, pleading eyes. "Can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Uh… Sure, kid," Sokka says, stalling as he moves to tuck Lin's blankie around her shoulders (the air is surprisingly chilly for Ember Island. Wouldn't want her to get a cold). He keeps an arm around her and her plushy, making sure they don't fall.

"Oh!" He snaps with his free hand, excitedly, "How bout' I tell you about the time your Uncle Aang and I came face to face with a Giant Sabretooth Moose Lion!? Huh!?"

Lin scrunches her face, "I already know that one, Sokka."

Sokka deflates, "Um. Okay. Then how about the time we travelled through the Serpent's Pass."

Lin makes a show of yawning, though more to express her boredom and less her fatigue. "I know that one too. Mommy said you fainted."

"Sheesh, kid." Sokka scratches the back of his head. "You're one tough cookie to crack."

Lin turns her head up to him and fixes him with a challenging, unimpressed look, and Sokka can't help but think how she's never look more like her mother.

"Tell me a new story, Uncle Sokka," Lin demands, her lips pouting.

"Okaaay, fine," Sokka sighs, hanging his head back in defeat. He turns his head back to her and wags his finger, trying to be firm, "But then it's back to bed - your own bed. Got it? You need a good night's sleep."

Apparently his 'tough guy' act doesn't fool her, as Lin giggles merrily at his expense. She nods her assent, looking thoroughly pleased to be getting her way. She really does take after her mother.

"Hmmm, okay. Let's see." Sokka strokes his goatee, thoughtfully, "Once upon a time. Uh…"

Sokka pauses, quickly trying to conjure up some fairytale from his head. It takes him a second, and he's not quite sure where the inspiration comes from, but eventually, he starts, "Once upon a time, there was a prince, and the prince lived in a faraway castle, where everything was made of ice."

"Ice?" Lin makes a face. "Why would anyone want to live there?"

"Hey," Sokka chirps, fighting the smile at his lips. "You want a bedtime story or not?"

Lin nods, offering another cheeky giggle before moving her fingers to her mouth, pantomiming her lips shut.

"Then shush." Sokka says, unable to hide his amusement. "Okay, where was I? Oh! So, this prince guy lived in a faraway castle, where everything was made of ice." Sokka pauses for dramatic effect, then lowers his voice and says, "Including his heart."

Lin gasps, suddenly not so skeptical.

"Though the ice castle was his home," Sokka continues, his voice gaining confidence as the story builds, "He had no one to share it with, and the prince was incredibly lonely, so his heart grew colder and colder, until one day…" Another theatrical pause, then, "It shattered."

"What did he do?" Lin asks, genuinely. She chews on the edge of her blankie, biting her suspense.

"Well, with his heart broken into pieces, one day, the prince decided he would leave his castle in search of someone who could fix it." Sokka uses his free hand to make exaggerated gestures as he says,"First, the prince travelled aaaaall the way to the other side of the world, where he came across another biiig castle made entirely of ice!"

"How big was it?"

"Oh, it was huge, Lin! The biggest castle he'd ever seen!" Another pause, though less theatrical, "But… it wasn't the castle that impressed the prince. It was the beautiful princess who lived inside."

"Was she an ice princess?"

"Oh yes, the iciest! But! She wasn't just the iciest, she was the nice-iest!" Sokka waits for Lin to laugh at his (in his opinion, very clever) joke, but she doesn't (tough crowd), so he soldiers on, "She was so nice, in fact, that the prince decided to show the princess his broken heart and ask if she could fix it.

"But, while the princess was wonderful and kind, unfortunately, she could not put his heart back together." Sokka takes a heavy breath, forcing away a sudden memory. "So, the princess gave him her own heart instead.

"The heart she gave him was made of snow, yet it was somehow warm to the touch." Sokka's brows knit together, his face tinged with regret. "Knowing the incredible sacrifice that the princess was making, the prince vowed to protect her heart and keep it safe. But unfortunately, one day he got too close to a fire, and the heart melted in his hands."

"Oh no!" Lin says, her eyes filled with worry.

"Sokk-I mean," Sokka coughs into his fist, covering his slip, "The prince was very sad, as not only did he break his promise, but he was also worried what would happen to the princess without her heart."

"What happened?" Lin looks up at him with familiar, fragile eyes.

"Well… while the snow of the heart had melted, a spirit came and was able to freeze it once more." Sokka pauses, not sure if all the fantastical elements of his story align, but Lin doesn't seem to mind. "But the spirit was worried that the heart would melt again, so she threw it up into the sky, where no one could touch it. The prince was still very sad, as he knew this meant that the princess was gone, but he was glad because he knew she was at peace, and that he'd always see her heart shining in the sky."

Sokka takes a moment to collect himself – a moment that Lin intuitively knows not to interrupt – before trekking on, "With his heart still broken, the prince travelled across the sea to an island far, far away, where instead of a princess, he found a warrior.

"The warrior was strong and brave, so the prince asked if there was any way she could fix his heart. But once again, though the warrior tried very hard, she was unable to fix it. So, just like the princess, she offered him her own. And this time, the heart was made of gold."

Lin's eyes light up. "Gold?"

"Yes, the heart was made entirely of gold." Sokka's lip quirks up into a half-grin, happy to find that the weight in his chest is now one of nostalgia and no longer regret. "It was beautiful and rare, and the prince thought he had found the perfect heart for him. But as perfect as it was, the gold was malleable."

"Mal-label?" Lin asks, her face pinched in confusion.

"Uh…" Sokka pauses again, trying to think of an easier word. He snaps his fingers once he's got it, "Bendable! Yes, the heart was made of gold, but the gold was soft and bendable, and while the prince held onto the heart for as long as he could, eventually, the gold started to change shape in his hands, until it no longer resembled a heart.

"Realizing the heart could not withstand the pressure of his hands, the prince decided to give it back to the warrior, and while this made him sad, he was happy to see the gold heart flourish in the hands of someone else. It was the perfect heart, he realized, just not the perfect heart for him.

"Again, with his heart still broken, the prince set off on another journey, and this time, instead of a princess or a warrior, he found a healer. This made the prince very excited, for surely a healer could fix his broken heart."

Lin bounces on his knee, excitedly, "Did it work?"

Sokka shakes his head, "No, Lin. While the healer was gentle and kind, no matter how hard she tried, she could not put the prince's heart back together again."

"Why?" Lin snuggles into the blanket once more, looking up at him again with sad eyes.

"Well, Linny Bear, when the prince showed the healer the pieces of his broken heart, while she could not fix it, she was able to point out that there was a piece missing," Sokka says, his voice suddenly serious, despite the childish nature of his telling. "The prince had no idea where he left the missing piece, but the healer, feeling bad that she could not help him find it, offered him her own heart instead.

"This time, the heart she gave him was made of glass," Sokka brings his voice down into a whisper, trying to add some suspense, if only to cover up a twinge of bitterness. "The glass was beautiful and crystal clear, and the prince could see his own reflection on it staring back at him. But…when the prince held the heart in his hands, the glass shattered, so the healer took it back, angry at him for breaking it."

"Then what'd he do?"

"Well," Sokka says, "Realizing he would never be able to fix his heart without the missing piece, the prince went in search of it. And he searched, far and wide, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not find the missing piece.

"Instead, all around the world, he found princesses and warriors and healers who would try to give him their own hearts instead. Hearts made of fire, hearts made of flowers, hearts made of clouds. They were all beautiful, but no matter what, the hearts would always end up breaking in his hands, for they did not belong to him.

"One day, when the prince was close to giving up, he came across an old friend. Not knowing what else to do, the prince told his friend aaaall about his journey and his broken heart, and to his surprise, his friend told him that her heart had been broken too.

"At first, the prince did not believe his friend, for he remembered that her heart was made of stone, and surely, something so strong could not break." Sokka pauses to sigh, yearningly, "But the prince's friend showed him her heart, and while the heart looked to be whole, when the prince held it, he discovered that it was actually split in two.

"Curious, the prince opened the heart, and to his surprise, while on the outside, the heart was dirty and rough around the edges – inside, what the prince found was a sea of diamonds."

Once again, Lin gasps, enraptured by the tale.

"But that's not all he found," Sokka says, conspiracy on his tongue.

"What else did he find?"

"He found what he had been searching for for soooo long: the missing piece of his own heart."

Lin shifts in his lap, resting her head tiredly against his chest once more. Quietly, she asks, "Why did the friend have it?"

"Well, kid, the prince wondered the same thing, but when he asked his friend why she had it, the friend got scared."

"Why?" Lin asks, through another yawn – this time a sleepy one.

"You see, the friend was missing a piece of her own heart, so she was using his to keep hers together. She worried if she gave the prince his piece back, her own heart would shatter completely.

"So, in her fear, the friend took her heart back from the prince and encased it in metal, locking it away where no one could touch it. This made the prince angry and sad, for not only did this mean he'd never fix his own heart, but it also meant no one would get to see the beauty of hers.

"The prince told the friend how beautiful her heart was and why she shouldn't hide it away, but the friend was blind, so she didn't believe him. However, feeling bad about taking the prince's missing piece, the friend offered him a deal: if he could bring back the missing piece of her heart, then she would give him back his own.

"While the prince agreed to look for the missing piece of her heart, what he didn't tell her is that when he found it, he would not be trading it back for his own. You see, now that he saw all her diamonds, he wanted one for himself."

Sokka pauses one last time, searching for the appropriate words. Maybe there aren't any, but he tries, "He knew this meant that neither of them would ever fully heal their hearts, but he also knew that his friend's heart was so rare and special, that so long as he had a piece of it, he'd be okay with his own always being just a little bit broken."

Sokka's fable putters out, unfinished, into silence, and Sokka finds himself wiping the unexpected emotion from his eyes. Not wanting to worry Lin with his tears, Sokka looks down, only to find her fast asleep against his chest. Careful not to wake her up, Sokka stands up slowly and adjusts Lin so her head rests on his shoulder. Even in her sleep, Lin knows to wrap her arms around his neck as he carries her back to her room, and Sokka's shattered, ice heart warms, just a little.

Quietly ducking into the room, Sokka takes a moment to peer into Suyin's crib, easing that perpetual stress of parenthood that he's somehow made his, just for a moment. He finishes tucking in Lin – along with Mr. Fluffykins - for the second time that night and checks one more time that Su is okay. When he's done, he lingers in the doorway, takes one last glance at his sleeping kids, then leaves.

When he gets back to his room, for a long time, he stares out his window and looks up at the moon. Though, perhaps for the first time since breaking his promise to her all those years ago, it is not Yue he thinks of.

---

"You're crazy if you think I'm getting on that thing."

Toph, not normally one to show her hand, can't keep the surprise from her face as her feet take in the giant creature in front of her. Sure, she's met plenty of strange, rather large animals in her time (badgermoles, flying bison, giant eelhounds, shirshus. You know, just to name a few), but she's not sure she's ever encountered one like this before.

"Why not?" Zuko asks, though by his short, amused laugh, Toph thinks he knows why.

"That…that thing is huge!" Toph gestures out wildly to the beast.

"Ah, come on, Toph. It's not that big. It's just a baby." Zuko moves to scratch the beast's face, affectionately, "And it's not a 'thing', it's a dragon."

Toph's mouth hangs open, "Are you saying that it's only going to get bigger?"

"Toph, I promise, Druk might not be as fluffy as Appa, but he's just as gentle." Again, Zuko smirks, then adds, "Well, unless I ask him not to be."

"At least Appa has a saddle!" Toph cries out, not at all mollified, "And he doesn't…I don't know, breathe fire, or whatever it is that dragons do! Was this supposed to help your case, Zuko? Cause I got news for you, bub. It ain't!"

"Toph." With a remarkable amount of patience (and still too much amusement in his voice for Toph's liking), Zuko extends his hand out and waits for her to grab it. "Don't you trust me?"

"Pfft. You? Maybe." Toph ignores Zuko's gesture and instead crosses her arms above her chest, petulantly, "Gravity? Not so much."

Zuko keeps his hand out and waits, "Toph."

Toph grumbles inwardly. Truthfully, there's a big part of her that wants to tell Zuko to just fuck off and let her go back to her office so she can go back to feeling sorry for herself in peace.

But… Don't be a coward, Beifong. Especially not now, when Sokka needs her to be brave.

Rolling her eyes, Toph reaches out and take's Zuko's hand, albeit quite begrudgingly, "Fine."

Zuko helps Toph onto the beast, and it's just as terrifying as she expects it to be when her bending is rendered completely useless and the dragon takes off, Toph's stomach dropping unpleasantly low. Too freaked out to be embarrassed, Toph wastes no time in wrapping her arms around Zuko's torso as tightly as she can. He makes a sound of protest, but Toph doesn't loosen her grip.

It's horribly uncomfortable for the both of them, especially with Zuko's dual swords squished against Toph's torso. At least they're sheathed. Toph spits out a strand of Zuko's hair that gets stuck to her lip, and she holds back a snide comment about its length and his missed hair modeling opportunity, if only because she's afraid she'll throw up if she opens her mouth.

So, the most terrifying ride of her life (in which the journey and the destination both make her nervous) passes by mostly in silence. Hours and hours of silence. And then more hours of silence. Should it be taking this long?

Toph's discomfort only grows as the hours pass. The inner muscles of her thighs are sore from straddling Druk for so long, and she feels a bit of drool crusting at the corner of her lips where her cheek is pressed against Zuko's back. She also kind of has to pee, and despite the fact that they're apparently getting closer to the Fire Nation, the air doesn't seem to be getting any warmer.

"No offense, Captain Flames," Toph finally speaks, startling a spaced-out Zuko, "But are you sure you know how to drive this thing? Shouldn't we have gotten there by now?"

"Of course, I know how to!" Zuko shouts back, and the spite in his tone tells Toph all she needs to know. Yup. They're lost.

Oh well. She figures a little delay might help her build up her nerve a bit before seeing Sokka, so she doesn't question Zuko's dragon-driving abilities any further.

Though after a while, she does question, "Why do you care so much?"

"Hmm?"

"About what happens to me and Sokka?" Toph asks, lifting her head off Zuko's back. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Well, for starters, I'm sick of you two moping around," Zuko casts a teasing glance her way, "And Ty Lee won't shut up about Sokka's 'murky aura'."

"Har Har."

"Truthfully," Zuko says, after another beat, "My uncle once said that the best way to help yourself is to help someone else."

Toph scoffs, before she can stop herself, "What do you need help with?"

"Look, Toph, you're not the only one who's trying to make up for things. And you're not the only one who's ever felt lost." Zuko takes a deep breath, and Toph feels him turn his neck back to face the sky, "Sometimes it takes wandering to realize you were ever lost in the first place."

Toph quirks a brow, "Is that how you found a dragon?"

"Something like that." Zuko says, and by his tone, Toph knows he's done talking about it.

She feels a brief flicker of regret. She's often found herself envious of Zuko's confidence over the years. They started out with similar hang-ups in life, both never really feeling understood or accepted by their parents (though Toph admits that Zuko's case might have been a little more extreme). Even so, at least from Toph's perspective, Zuko's emotional hang-ups are ones he's long since overcome.

But perhaps that's not fair. Zuko may have solved the problems of his love life and moved on from his 'daddy issues', but that doesn't mean his life is just peachy keen.

The more Toph thinks about it, she can practically hear Azula's voice, wicked in her ear, targeting her weaknesses, taunting her with her biggest regrets. She guesses that Zuko hears it too, and she imagines the feeling he gets is less of fear and more of regret. Azula never was able to get better, and Toph realizes that perhaps the reason Zuko's so keen on helping her is because he never got to help his real sister.

Toph briefly considers asking about his half-sister, Kiyi, but the wind is too loud in her ears to bother trying to speak over it.

Too Loud? Wait, why is the wind suddenly so loud?

"Zuko?" Toph asks, having to raise her voice to hear over the wind. "What's going on!?"

"Shit!" Is all she hears Zuko mutter, before suddenly, Toph finds herself falling from the sky.

For a split second, Toph comes to the horrifying conclusion that she's about to die. She thinks she hears Zuko's panicked screams somewhere next to her, though it could just be her own. Either way, she has the chilling realization that Zuko is not about to come to her rescue. But, before the terror has time to settle in, and before she has time to brace herself for the final impact, she finds herself bouncing off a cushion (a generous word for it) of leaves, then falling and bouncing again through a series of branches and vines.

"Oof!" It's far from a graceful landing, and if it weren't for her police armor, she'd surely fare off much worse, but when her body finally lands hard on the ground, at least she's alive. Toph feels the wind knocked out of her, though - thanks the spirits above - the earth is soft enough that she didn't just break all her bones – or worse.

For several minutes, Toph lays stunned in place, the shock of what just happened? not quite wearing off just yet.

Finally, Toph sits up in the shallow pool of mud, her joints and muscles shouting their resistance. She rubs at a bump forming on her head. Groggily, "Ugh, Zuko. I told you we couldn't trust gravity."

Where she expects Zuko to respond, she's met with silence. For another brief moment, Toph is again struck by panic. Please tell me he's not dead. But then, a quick, though admittedly hazy use of her seismic sense tells her that if Zuko is dead, she wouldn't have any way of knowing.

Because he is not here.

And neither is his damn dragon.

Fuck.

In a moment of pure submission, Toph spreads her arms out to her sides and falls back onto the ground, letting her body sink slowly into the mud. With a long sigh, she laments to the world, "Well this is just fucking great, isn't it?"

Then, for whatever reason, she starts to laugh.

It starts as a short breath of air, then a low, grumbling chuckle, until finally, she finds herself all but clutching her stomach as loud cackles of irony peel from her throat.

She knows Zuko said that they never know what could happen, but she certainly didn't think she'd end up falling off a fucking dragon of all things and ending up… well, wherever the hell she is now.

She's not sure how long it takes for her hysteria to die down, but when it does, her expression morphs into a solemn one, torn between accepting this as her fate and knowing that she never will.

She lays in the mud for another few minutes before begrudgingly (and painfully) pushing herself up off the ground. She takes a moment to crack her stiff joints, then uses her bending to rid the mud and dents from her uniform. She bends it off for a moment so she can relieve herself (it's a miracle she didn't pee her pants on the journey down), and then bends it back on, despite the extra heat it brings.

Finding no other way to delay the inevitable, Toph paces around until she finds a patch of mud that's more earth than water, then uses her bending to solidify the ground beneath her feet. Taking a deep breath, Toph plants her feet firmly on the ground, refocusing her seismic sense.

Except, her sense doesn't want to see too far right now, apparently. Toph's brows pinch together as she struggles to focus on her surroundings, but the radius of her abilities is drastically smaller than it usually is. Perhaps the ground is just too muddy? Though even in mud she's normally able to sense things pretty well, so maybe she just hit her head too hard. Either way, if Zuko is anywhere nearby, she can't sense him.

Realizing she'll have to do things the old-fashioned way, Toph cups her hands around her mouth and yells out a long, "Zuko!"

She waits for any type of response, but all she hears is her own voice echoing into thick air, and the symphony of squawks and chirps from whatever creatures call this place home. Up in the sky on the back of the dragon, she'd actually been cold, but the temperature here is fucking hot. The air feels incredibly dense, and has a marshy, sulfuric smell to it that makes Toph wrinkle her nose. It doesn't take long for Toph to realize what this place is.

"I'm in the fucking Foggy Swamp, aren't I?" Toph says to no one.

She remembers Aang telling her about his strange encounters in the swamp, but what she never bothered to tell him was that she'd actually been here before. It was so long ago, back when she was still a kid and would run away from home. She was quite young then, too young for it to be more than a vague memory at this point, but she does remember it being one of the few places near Gaoling that she could go where no one would bother to look for her, if they ever realized she was missing.

Which is how she comes to the second realization that, as it stands, they're nowhere near Ember Island. They didn't just veer off course a little - they went in the completely wrong direction. Sheesh, you'd think someone who tracked the Avatar all over the world would know how to track their way back home.

"Come on, Dragon Boy," Toph mutters as she starts to walk, without any real direction. "Where the hell are you."

Despite the familiarity of the swamp, Toph's seismic sense still feels muddled as she continues her trek, and while she's blaming it on her sore head, Toph thinks that it's a bit more muddled than it probably should be. Even when she came here as a little kid, before mastering her seismic skill, she could find her way around the swamp better than this.

The humidity pooling at the back of her neck doesn't help her focus either. She fans herself with her hands, but her efforts to cool herself are in vain, as are her efforts to locate her friend. Hours have passed, and all she's come across is mud, bugs, vines, and more mud. At this point, it's probably well into nighttime. She's hot and thirsty and starving and, not to mention, exhausted.

"Guess I'm not making it to Ember Island tonight," Toph mutters to herself, and shamefully, she finds the feeling in her chest is still more of relief than regret.

Deciding to take a break from her useless trek, Toph plops herself down on the root of a tree and picks a slug from her toe, flicking it into the distance. Her eyes and her body feel heavy, like lead, and she finds herself laying back again against the tree as she pretends to watch the stars.

When she wakes up however many hours later, it takes her a moment to remember where she is, and she briefly prays to Oma and Shu that it was all just a dream. But, knowing that it's not a dream, Toph reluctantly pushes herself up off the tree, and finds herself suppressing a shiver.

Wait, a shiver?

Why is it suddenly so cold? And not just chilly like Republic City, but bone-chilling, bitter, freezing cold. She feels the sensation of frost at her nose and cheeks, and down at her feet, but when she touches her face, she finds it just as sweaty from the swamp as she remembers.

Is she sick or something? She doesn't really feel sick. Freezing and tired, scratched and bruised, cranky and hungry, but not sick. Toph sniffs in through her nose just to test her theory, but she finds it clear of any snot. What makes her more curious is that when she sniffs, it's not the marshy swamplands that she smells, but the familiar, enticing scent of sea-salt, musk and smoke.

"Toph." A familiar voice sounds, startling Toph from her detective skills.

"Zuko? Is that you?" Toph says through chattering teeth. But she feels no footsteps, and even with her foggy seismic sense, she should surely feel something with how close the voice sounds.

"Toph!" The voice calls again, this time more urgently.

Toph feels cold breath escape her lips in a shaky exhale, and a chill run down her spine that has nothing to do with the cold. Whispering, "Sokka?"

"Toph!" The voice cries again, and though it sounds ghostly and distorted, Toph would know that voice anywhere.

"No, no… This is just the swamp talking," Toph reminds herself. She encases her head in her freezing hands and shakes it, "I hit my head and now it's playing tricks on me. I'm blind, for Oma's sake! I can't have visions!"

But the voice calls again, softer this time, "Toph."

She knows it's not real. She knows it.

But then, she feels the pressure of a hand against her cheek. The hand is warm, so warm against her freezing skin, and against her better judgement, Toph reaches up to cradle the phantom limb, bringing it closer to her face and all but nuzzling into the ghost.

"I can't stay," the ghost says. He sounds so sad. Where had she heard that tone before? We're moving back to the Southern Water Tribe.

"But you have to stay," she finds herself saying in return.

"My people need me."

"But I need you," Toph pouts, not even aware of the desperation in her own voice. "I'm your people."

Silence.

"Sokka?" Toph asks the ghost, as she feels the warm pressure at her cheek disappear.

"Come home," says the voice, now much, much further away.

Without thinking, Toph reaches out, her arms searching for a figure that she knows isn't there. Her efforts prove to be fruitless, so she takes a deep breath and balls her fists up at her sides instead. Again, she whispers, "I'm trying."

The voice doesn't respond, and the bitter cold of her vision slowly returns to the humid reality of the swamp. Yet, instead of relief, Toph feels the telltale sting of tears forming pressure at her eyes. It's a feeling she's become more acquainted with in the past few years, and for a moment, she feels like that same five-year-old that ran away from home, longing to find somewhere, something, yet feeling so lost.

But she forces the tears down with a hard swallow and a deep, shuddering breath. Crying won't help her right now. It won't help anyone. It won't help her find Zuko. It won't help her out of the swamp. It won't keep her family safe from Yakone and it won't make Sokka appear. No, crying won't help.

The only thing that can help her right now is... herself.

The only thing standing in her way is herself.

Perhaps it's ironic, given the fact that she's alone, lost in a foggy swamp, and, quite literally, blind, but it is in this moment that she finally sees everything so clearly.

The truth is… Yes, she's scared. She's fucking terrified of loving Sokka, and of letting him love her. Terrified of getting her heart broken, or of breaking his. Terrified of losing him. Terrified of giving him everything he deserves, and getting everything she's not quite sure that she does deserve. Yes, she's scared.

But what does Toph Beifong do when she's scared? She fights.

But you didn't fight for us, you fought against us.

And now, she's fighting against herself. She's fighting against her own chance at happiness. And why? Because she doesn't feel like she deserves it, or because she doesn't trust herself to hope that… maybe… it doesn't matter what she deserves.

Maybe all that matters is was she's willing to fight for.

Taking another deep breath, Toph refocuses her attention. Strangely enough, she does her best to channel Aang, distantly recounting the meditation lessons he gave her a few years back. Though, she thinks, perhaps it's not meditation that she needs.

Throughout all her troubles, the one thing that has quite literally kept her grounded, is the earth beneath her feet. Even when her faith in herself was shaken, the earth never quaked. Not unless she asked it to.

Toph wastes no more time. Turning back to the tree root where she slept, she gets down on her hands and knees, crawling through a patch of mud like she did as a little kid, until her hands and feet are planted firmly on the earth.

Where her seismic sense was previously clouded by her unwilling mind, now, she sees everything.

It's amazing! Even with her self-declaration as The Greatest Earthbender in the world, she's surprised by the power she's able to harness right now. Though, whatever she's doing now doesn't feel like her usual seismic sense. It feels different, deeper than just feeling the vibrations.

Whatever it is, it leads her right to where she wants to be.

She's not sure how. Maybe it's just another vision, but it feels too tangible for that to be true. She feels it. She feels him. She feels Sokka. Perhaps not in great detail, but somehow, she can imagine the vibrations as if he were standing there right in front of her. She can feel him, feel him saying goodnight to Lin and Su. Feel him looking up at the sky, where Toph knows the moon lives.

With a wicked grin, "Toph, you rule."

Toph stands up and runs as quick as her beat-up little body will let her. Whereas it took her hours to mope around without a cause, it seems to take her only minutes to end up underneath the Banyan-Grove Tree, where she finds her friend and his scaly pet.

"Zuko!" Toph calls out, smiling as she finishes her jog up the roots of the tree and meets her friend with a bone-crushing hug. Zuko nearly falls back from the force, but returns the embrace, clearly just as relieved to reunite as she is. Toph gives his shoulders a tight squeeze, and if his painful grunt is anything to go by, she guesses Zuko didn't exactly have the softest landing either, and though neither one of them say it, they're both clearly glad to find the other alive.

"Toph!" Zuko says, his body slumping in ease as he pulls back from the hug. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you."

Toph lands a much-needed, signature tap on Zuko's arm, careful not to hit him too hard. "Really?" Smirking to herself, "Once I finally sensed your royal little footsteps, I had no trouble finding you."

"Yeah, well," Zuko rubs the sore spot on his arm, "We can't all be blessed with your seismic abilities."

He sounds more relieved to see her than annoyed by her quip, but even so, Toph picks up on the unsettled bite in his tone. It's the same note of unease he gets when he talks about his sister, and the thought makes Toph decide to forgo any discussions of hallucinations.

"Zuko, how the hell did we end up here?" Toph has to ask, though without any real annoyance, "We literally went in the complete opposite direction of Ember Island."

"Uh." Toph can sense Zuko scratch his neck, sheepishly, "I may have put a bit too much trust in Druk. I wasn't really paying that much attention to be honest."

"Zuko, I know your dragon-baby is cool and all that, but last time I checked, animals aren't exactly good at reading maps." To her left, Druk releases a low growl of offense, and Toph quickly assures the beast, "Easy there. Nice dragy-dragy. Don't worry, I can't read maps very well either."

"I know it's weird, and I can't exactly explain it," Zuko taps his chin, "But he usually just, intuitively knows wherever I need him to go."

"Huh." Toph offers a shrug, and she doesn't bother telling Zuko that she thinks perhaps Druk led them exactly where they needed to be.

"Let's get out of here," Zuko says, moving to climb back on the dragon, "This place gives me the creeps."

"Really?" Despite everything, Toph finds herself fighting off another smirk. "I kind of like it here."

---

Sokka's eyes creep open, staring into the darkness of the night. It takes his eyes a few seconds to adjust as he stares at the ceiling, wondering what it was that woke him up. Then, he hears the familiar creak of a door opening.

"Lin? Is that you?" Sokka sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Can't sleep again?"

Sokka blinks, and when he opens his eyes, it takes him a moment to process the mythical figure standing in his doorway. The moon shining through the window casts the figure in blue light, glinting off the metal of the armor it wears. The eyes of the figure are glassy and wide, milky, and determined.

Sokka, suddenly wide awake, "Toph?"

For a moment, Sokka is sure that he must be dreaming. He stands up and once again rubs at his eyes, just to be sure. When he opens them again, Toph is stepping into his room and closing the door. Sokka stands rooted in place, still unable to process her sudden appearance.

"Toph?" Sokka says again, as she starts to pace towards him. "How are you here right now? Why are you in your uniform? Is something wr-"

The question dies with Toph's lips on his.

Sokka doesn't know what's happening, or more accurately, how it's happening, but it takes less than a second for him to return the kiss with full fervor. Toph's hands reach up to grip at the fabric of his undershirt, and in turn, Sokka reaches down to grip the sides of her face, pulling the kiss in as deep as it can go.

His mind, whether still foggy from sleep or from something else entirely, gets carried away with her kiss. Carried away past far off ice castles, past hearts made of snow or gold or glass, and to one caged in steal. But their touch, their kiss must be the key, and he finds the cage opening, revealing the stone inside. Toph's lips are rough on his, and somewhere in his mind, Sokka looks for a diamond. He finds one with his tongue.

Toph breaks away from the kiss, but evidently, only to bend off her metal uniform. Sokka notes that her underclothes are a bit dirty, patches of dried mud caked on bits of the fabric, and not for the first time, he wonders where exactly she came from, and how the hell she's here right now.

That thought or care quickly dissolves into his gut, and is replaced by arousal low in his belly, as Toph continues stripping down, taking no time to linger as she tosses her clothes haphazardly to the side, until she's completely bare in front of him. Her skin looks almost snow white in the light of the moon casting through the window, and Sokka can't help but wonder if he's looking at a ghost.

He realizes it's been years since he's seen her like this, and he notes the years reflected across her skin. The small sunspot just above her nipple that he used to love so much - he'd almost forgotten it was there. The slight discoloration across her ribs and down a portion of her thigh, a faint reminder of the day that almost took her life. Thin, pink lines painting her lower abs and the sides of her breasts, a reminder of the life she brought into the world. He notes the scrapes and bruises on various parts of her body, a more recent reminder of just how hard she fights.

Her body is kissed by flaws, and Sokka thinks he's never seen her more clearly. He also thinks he's never wanted her more.

Following her lead, Sokka pulls his shirt off, then his pants, and tosses them to join Toph's clothes somewhere on the floor. Whereas he mapped Toph's body with his eyes, Toph uses her hands to map his, slowly drawing her hands up his arms, across his shoulders, down his chest, then lower. While her touches are intimate, tracing memories across his skin and healing old wounds, her touches are also surprisingly innocent.

Until they're not.

If this is a dream, Sokka decides it is one in which he will gladly partake. Though, when Toph finds his lips once more - gentle and giving, desperate and rough, flawed, but oh so perfect – he trusts that it's real.

---

"Remind me to thank Zuko in the morning," Sokka says, satiated and tired and full of life.

"Don't you dare," Toph says, her finger tracing patterns in the hair on his chest, "We'll never hear the end of it."

Sokka looks down at Toph and at the silk sheets twisted around their legs. Several moments post-bliss, a thin layer of dried sweat covers their bodies, but it's since become cold and sticky and not entirely comfortable, so Sokka shimmies and pulls the sheets over them, happy when Toph snuggles further into his chest.

He's not sure what time it is, but it's probably closer to sunrise than he wants it to be. Exhaustion tugs at Sokka's eyes, though he finds he's not in the mood to sleep. Instead, he's content to lay awake with Toph. She looks even more tired than he does, though based on her story of how she got here, Sokka can't say that he blames her. Either way, it doesn't seem like she's much in the mood for sleep either.

"In the swamp…" Sokka starts, his voice graveled in the silence of the night. Hesitantly, "Did you see anything… strange?"

"Sokka," Toph says, gently, "Think about that question for a second."

He does. Then, with a slap to his forehead, "Shit. I can't believe I just asked you that."

Toph laughs against his chest, "I'm glad some things never change."

"Yeah, me too." Sokka pulls her in closer to his side, squeezing her tight, "Then again, I'm glad some things have."

Toph simply hums her assent as she continues to feather Sokka's skin, sending pleasant shivers up his spine.

"Actually," she says, after a moment, "I didn't see anything in the swamp, but I did feel something."

"Really?" Sokka asks, half asleep, "What did you feel?"

Quietly, "I felt you."

Sokka's eyes flash open, suddenly not so tired.

"Really? In the swamp?" Sokka asks, clearly trying to make sense of the mumbo-jumbo of it, "Like, could you feel visions?"

"Well yeah, kinda. I guess there was a little of that," Toph says, her own understanding of what happened in the swamp not entirely clear, "But what I meant was, I could actually feel you, all the way here on Ember Island."

"Pfft," Sokka scoffs, skeptically, "I know the vines go all over the world, but that's-"

"-Tucking Lin into bed. Staring up at the moon."

Sokka blinks, and he definitely doesn't feel tired anymore, as he begins to realize what she's saying, and what it means. Which is, well, for one, Toph will never cease to amaze him. But also… he'd be the first to admit that he's not the most spiritual guy (with the exception of his talks with Yue, of course), but even he can acknowledge that sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways. Something he learned from his own time in the swamp, all those years ago.

He can't help but wonder if Toph's experience sensing him all the way from the swamp has less to do with her epic abilities and more to do with… well, something else neither of them will probably ever understand. Whatever it is, Sokka is grateful. For as much as it felt like something was always driving them apart, perhaps the opposite was true.

"Hey, Sokka?" Toph says, in that tone that lets Sokka knows whatever she's about to say will be serious.

He kisses her temple. "Hmm?"

"If something happens to me, will you… will you take care of Lin and Su?"

Sokka frowns. That is not what he thought she was going to say. Though he knows it's not his or anyone's promise to make, he says, adamantly, "Nothing is going to happen to you."

"Sokka, please," Toph says, quietly. She pushes herself up from his chest and tries to make eye contact, falling short by just an inch, "We don't know what will happen. Yakone could do something else. Or another crime boss could come along. Or maybe I get sick, or just die from stress!"

"Or fall off a dragon," Sokka jokes, not liking the discussion of her mortality.

"Oh no," Toph promises, a smile finding her voice, "I'm never getting on that thing again."

"No, not you. I'm talking about me!" Sokka says, pretending to pout, "I'm sooo jealous that you got to ride a dragon! When's it my turn!?"

"My point is," Toph lightly smacks at Sokka's chest to shut him up, a poor disguise for her laugh, "We don't know what will happen. To either of us. And I'm learning that that's okay."

Toph's head falls back down to Sokka's chest. "But the one thing I do need to know is that the girls will be taken care of. No matter what."

"Well," Sokka swallows a lump in his throat, "What about your parents?"

"You know," Toph says, ignoring his question, "A part of me is always going to wish that you were their actual dad, if only cause I wish I could have given that to you."

Sokka intakes a sharp breath, surprised by her admission, "Toph-"

"But Sokka, whether or not you're their 'real' dad, it doesn't make a difference in my world," Toph reaches out to place a hand on his cheek, her hands uncharacteristically tender. "Cause no matter what, you're the only one I trust to love them right. And maybe it's selfish of me to ask-"

"No," Sokka stops her, firmly, "It's not selfish. It's… all I ever really needed to hear. Toph, of course I'd watch over them, if it ever came to that. You know I already think of them like they're my own."

While Toph looks more than relieved by Sokka's assurance, she still says, "Sokka, I can't even count all the ways that I've hurt you in the past, but I want you to know that I'm sorry for all of them."

"Well, I want you to know that you're forgiven, Toph. And I'm sorry too. You're not the only one who's made mistakes, and I know I've hurt you too." Sokka pauses, takes a deep breath, then says, "You broke my heart."

Toph's mouth opens, but she doesn't interrupt. Either way, Sokka sees the silent plea in her eyes.

"But I realized that…" He continues. His hand traces soft lines up and down Toph's spine, soothing her, "Perhaps I never made it clear that it was yours to break."

"I…" Toph considers, then admits, "I don't know if I would have believed you even if you had."

Sokka takes another deep, quivering breath, preparing himself. "Well, I hope you'll believe me now. Toph, for what it's worth, even after everything we've been through, when I think of what makes me the happiest in this world, it's you," Sokka says, wiping at the sudden emotion in his eyes, "And in case it still isn't obvious, I love you very much."

This time, when emotion crests at Toph's eyes, she lets it fall. "I love you too, Sokka."

Despite having waited so long to say and to hear those words again, there is no grand feeling of revelation or rush of fireworks in his belly. Instead, there is peace. Sokka's gaze drops down to Toph's lips, and he starts to lean forward to seal the deal. But then, because Toph will always be Toph, instead of a kiss, she forms a fist and hits him with her most affectionate punch yet.

"Ow!" Sokka rubs the sore spot on his arm, but he can't deny the smile that tugs at his lips as Toph resumes tracing lazy patterns on his chest. It didn't really hurt anyway. If anything, Sokka feels actual physical relief, as the weight of all that was left unsaid finally lifts from his chest. That's it. He's said everything he wants to say.

Well, almost everything.

"Hey, Toph?" Sokka starts, hesitantly.

"Yes, loveeer?" Toph says, teasingly drawing out the pet-name.

But instead of matching her humor, he asks, "Will you and the girls move in with me?"

The finger at his chest stills. Then, gently, "No."

For a horrible split second, that weight returns to his chest with a crushing force, as he begins to process her rejection. But then…

"My place is much nicer, don't you think?" Toph says, a smirk in her voice.

"Hey! I know my place is a bit small, but it isn't that bad, I mean-" Sokka stops himself short, realizing, "Wait a minute, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Sokka," Toph does her best to peer up at his face once more, the teasing gone from her eyes, "Will you move in with me and the girls?"

"Hmm…" Sokka's cheeks widen in an ear-to-ear grin. He makes a show of tapping his chin, coyly, "I'll have to think about it. You do snore a lot."

"Sokka!" Toph swats his chest, though her laugh tells him that she's not at all offended.

"Yes, Toph. Yes, I'll move in with you," Sokka says. He takes a fond, though not entirely pleasant whiff of her swampy-smelling hair. He smiles against it. "But only if you shower first."

"Hmm. This?" Toph smirks as she takes a whiff of her own armpit, only somewhat managing to hide her own recoil. "This is nothing. I think we'll just have to toughen up your nose a bit, princess."

Sokka bends his face down to the crook of Toph's neck and takes an exaggerated inhale, then meets the same spot with a short, hot press of his lips. His voice is low in his throat when he says, "My nose is tough enough." Another kiss. "Thank you very much."

"Really?" Toph quirks another brow, bending her neck back in offering as Sokka continues to pepper it with kisses. She's teasing him, but Sokka picks up on the hint of trepidation in her voice when she asks, "So, you think you'll still love me even on my smelliest days?"

"Ah, come on. Have some faith, Toph." Sokka smiles against her neck, then moves his affections upwards. He kisses her jaw. "Trust me." Then her lips. "I'll always love you."

---

AN

No multi-chapter Toph-centric fic would be complete without a life-changing field trip with Zuko, now, would it?

So little bit of confession to make. When I made the original outline for this story, this was the one chapter that I wasn't quite sure what to do with. I was originally planning to make this my last chapter, but I'm weird and I needed the story to have an even number of chapters, okay?

With that in mind, it ended up being my longest chapter yet, and it was one of my absolute favorites to write, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Only one chapter left!

Also, just FYI, I recently went back and edited some of the previous chapter (still working my way through the most recent ones). Mostly just to get rid of typos (though I'm sure I missed a few), but I did add a few little things here or there. So, in case anyone happens to read back and notice a few small changes, that's why.

P.S. This chapter was named after and inspired by Etta James' "Trust in Me."

"Trust in me in all you do. Have the faith I have in you. Love will see us through, if only you trust in me."